Masuk kicked off their first cultural fair, during period three and flex, with representation from all over the world. It showed off different countries art, language, dance, fashion, music, and life. Harini Gosukonda said, “My favorite part of the fair was seeing everyone walk around to different countries and experience new things. I loved the food the cadeteria made, it was a nice way to learn more about different cultures.” The cafeteria served different cultural foods to represent the countries shown. Yara Shaik and Iga Leszczynska made the fair possible, igniting the passion to have a culture fair. Some countries represented were India, France, Guatemala, Brazil, Ireland and many more.
At the India table they were doing free henna tattoos on anyone who wanted one. They were also dressed up in traditional Saris. It’s made up of a skirt, blouse, and scarf. The scarf placements differ depending on where their ancestors lived in India. During flex they showed the different versions of Indian dance by forming a dance group to represent each Indian state. Gosukonda, a dancer, said, “ I was nervous to do the dance and I was worried there wouldn’t be a lot of people coming. But the crowd was amazing and I’m so thankful to everyone who came. I also loved to be able to show some of my culture.”
Puerto Rico, Brazi, Argentina and Guatemala students represented South America. All of the country’s booths shared traditional household items and artwork, while also sharing the traditional food. During Flex the Brazilian students taught everyone how to dance Zumba. Before Zumba Anthony Cantano played Latin songs on his guitar, to show both modern and traditional Guatemalan music. All countries showed off their similarities and differences with photos, music, and clothing.
Some countries that represented Eupope were Ireland, Scotland, Romania, Poland, France and Portugal. Each country showed traditional clothing, native languages, art, and food for everyone to see/try. Ireland’s table had staple foods like tea, potatoes, and beans whereas Scotland brought Shortbread. The Scotland booth held traditional clothes called a kilt, which is a traditional skirt in both Scotland and Ireland. The Portugal booth, run by Sofia Goncalves, brought different textiles and traditional jewelry called Filigree. At the french booth they challenged others to match French treats to their French words. Which is similar to what the Israel table did, Israel showed the Hebrew alphabet and wrote everyone’s name in Hebrew.
Guyana’s table showed the language Gyense Creole, while comparing it to english. They also brought photos of what life in Ghana is like and showed traditional artwork. While they did not bring food to try, the Philippines table shared popular desserts such as the sunflower cracker and the coco mane. They also showed the most popular clothing, the Baroeg, which is made of coconut fiber.
All of these different cultures make up Masuk and they make up who we are. At flex students and teachers from cultures from Asia to South America came together to play music together while dancing. They took influences from every culture to make the point that every culture deserves to be celebrated. Hopefully this is the first of many cultural fairs at Masuk.
Masuk Free Press 